Spine Hedra Attack

Spine Hedra Attack is a random encounter in Tales from the Tiers.

Transcript
The path ahead winds through a patch of twisted oaks. Dry foliage crunches underfoot, and the hymns of insects score the day and night alike. The mingled scents of dill, wheat, and algae sour the air. Barely audible over the crunching of tree litter, you hear a creaking sound, like tightening rope, as the leaf-carpeted soil begins to shift around your feet. Stand your ground. Leap for safety. The tendrils lash at you, attempting to wrap around your arms and legs. Though they bite through your exposed flesh with fang-like thorns, you manage to fend off their grasp and escape the road. Like a storm of whips, a half-dozen green tendrils erupt from the ground. They lash wildly at the air, and the two nearest manage to slap against your thighs and calves, biting through your exposed flesh with fang-like thorns. Identify the attacker. Tear yourself free. Carefully slip free. You've heard of these plants, the spinehedera. A rare creeping ivy that spreads from a central flowering stalk, the spinehedera use their prehensile vines to trap prey, puncture their skin, and wring from them their blood. Enough damage to the central stalk will kill the plant and neutralize the threat of its vines. A slowly building heaviness in your limbs and blurriness to your vision reminds you that these plants also inject a powerful numbing agent into their victims... Attack the central stalk. Grimacing as thorns sink into your palms, you grab handfuls of fibrous vine and tear them from your skin. At first this seems like a losing proposition, the freed vines whipping back around your extremities, but you manage to outpace the plant's wild flailing and painfully free yourself from its tendrils. With efficient care you disentangle yourself from the vines, deftly slipping away from the flailing storm of green tendrils. Leave the plant. You stumble away from the plant, your head swimming, your feet falling heavily into each step. You glance back at the vines only to see them sinking back into the soil, readying themselves for their next victim. You continue on, your head clearing and feeling returning to your limbs as you put distance between yourself and the plant. Search for a weakness. The vines continue to thrash, grasping wildly for you. Your vision blurs slightly, numbness seeping into your limbs. Your arms hang at your sides, heavy and awkward. Your assault on the heart of the plant earns you a few more welts from the slashing thorns, but you manage to split the stalk down its center. Viscous sap oozes from the twitching creature, and a tangy copper scent lurks in the air. The spasming vines thrash their last, and then go limp. You collect some of the sap and shavings from the vines, certain such things can be of use in an apothecary. With sensation slowly returning to your limbs, you continue towards your destination. The tendrils lash at you and wrap around your arms and legs, biting through your exposed flesh with fang-like thorns. You back away from the thrashing plant and check yourself over. Though you bleed from dozens of small lacerations, the damage could be far worse... The thrashing tendrils stymie your attempts to slip away from the plant. The vines seem to tense, digging the thorns deeper into your flesh and dragging you slowly towards the center of the plant... You've heard tale of many carnivorous plants that exist across Terratus, but nothing that helps you identify - or kill - this one. A heaviness slowly builds in your limbs, and your vision begins to blur... You are unable to discern any weaknesses within the cloud of lashing whips... The vines continue to thrash, grasping wildly for you. Your vision blurs slightly, numbness seeping into your limbs. Your arms hang at your sides, heavy and awkward. You draw your arms, alert for the source of the disturbance, searching for signs of a trap. Like a storm of whips, a half-dozen green tendrils erupt from the ground. You pull your limbs free and roll away from the thrashing vines. You're not quite quick enough to avoid the tendrils twisting up the length of your legs. You back away from the thrashing plant and check yourself over. Blood pours from dozens of lacerations along your arms, legs, and face. You will certainly need to bandage yourself before you journey further. In the flurry of motion, you spot an eye in the verdant storm, a central stalk standing still among the lashing whips. In the flurry of motion, you spot an eye in the verdant storm, a central stalk standing still among the lashing whips. Continue... Continue... Continue... Continue... Continue...